"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

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Prime are an explosive new band from Nottingham/Sheffield, UK who are known for their powerful, edgy rock with post-punk and funk influences. Renowned for their live shows Prime have received admirable reviews, including this one from the NUSIC website: ”Prime create furious, in your face rock & roll… They’re one of the best live bands on the circuit“.
I spoke with Lee Heir (Vocals) Daniel Ison (Bass/Vocals) Kieran Hill (Guitar/Vocals) Zero (Drums) and asked them a bunch of Q’s which resulted in some random and entertaining comebacks!

Ok, lets get introductions out the way, who’s in the band, how did you meet?Lee: “I was always a big fan of Dan’s music when Prime started playing and invited him to join the group once our original bassist had left. Happily he accepted! Zero I had met dj’ing and doing sound at our local rock pub. There was a really really boring acoustic act on and I asked him to put the WWE wrestling back on in the background on the big projector screen to stop me falling asleep! Then Kieran replied to an ad I put up looking for a guitarist… We met, bitched about how annoying past band-mates had been, wrote some tunes together and got on a storm!”

What genre do you think you fit into?Kieran: “Easy listening.” (Laughs)Daniel: “Jazz Funk (Smiles)… Post-punk, new wave, I’d say. With rock n’ roll rooted in blues… Hmm, don’t say that… All music is rooted in blues!”

You’ve a new single out today called ‘Bye Bye’, whats it about and what was the motivation to write it?Lee: “Well if you read what some local music critics say, it’s a pop love song. But… it’s actually a quite dark and confusing song. I like getting stuff like that out of my mind and into a song, it’s a good release for me. It’s took on a different lease of life now it’s online as a single and music video, and I can forget about why I originally wrong the song.”

How do new songs you’ve recorded lately differ from older material?Lee: “The band are better, more raw, more exciting, more energy to their performance. Although there was that rough edge with Tiago, who produced and played guitar on our first recording project before we became an official band.”Daniel: “I had a pint with him the other day…”

Was there ever another career choice for any of you before you decided on music?Zero: “Heavy metal bin-man.”Daniel: “When I was little I wanted to be a weatherman…”Kieran: “For as long as I remember since being at school I wanted to do music. But I can remember at one point I wanted to be a pilot… it’s only about twenty-five grand to get the licence. Fuck that, I haven’t got twenty-five grand to be a pilot.”Lee: “I’d have been a footballer. Sadly the first team I played for as a teenager were shit. Comic book artist, I fancied that.”

How awesome is your job? Top 3 perks…Lee: “On the odd occasion that we get paid properly like we should it’s pretty good!”Daniel: “Don’t say that. Travelling, meet loads of people. Being with friends. Looking at the pretty girls in the audience…”Zero: “Well you can… I can’t see fuck all!”
(Zero pauses to check his phone as a message comes through)
“Hmm, a paid gig… two sets of forty-five minutes on July 5th… What sort of stuff… Michael Jackson songs! Fuck off!” (Tosses phone onto the chair next to him)

Everyone I’ve asked seems to have a different approach to this, what’s your songwriting process?Kieran: “Wake up at 3am with a shit jingle in your head. Send to lead singer.”Daniel: “Lots of hours at the Bunker9.” (Zero’s band rehearsal studio in Nottingham centre)Kieran: “We all polish things in our own way and add a lot to the songs.”Lee: “We’ve become more varied. I used to mainly write lyrics and vocal lines to band jams but we have lots of ways of writing now, including building songs up step-by-step.”

Is there one venue or gig that stands out for you… if so why?Daniel: “Sheffield o2.”Lee: “Ilkeston was fun… I like playing in the sticks, they’re easier to please cos theres nothing to do in small towns. The gigs are funnier and you have more fun.”Zero: “Supporting Space the other week was fun.”Kieran: “I really liked The Wardrobe in Leeds, it was rammed.”

What bands are you loving right now on your local scene?Daniel: “Damn Heavy, Future Shinjuku…”Kieran: “I like Prime, they’re alright…”Zero: “Who do I like? I don’t like anybody!”Lee: “Cherry Hex and The Dream Church are good, I saw them play with Twin Kidd in Nottingham. Twin Kidd’s singer has a lot of colour and personality.”

What gigs and festivals do you have coming up in the near future?Lee: “We’ve got some independent festivals, gigs in Leeds, and Doncaster for the first time, and we’re also involved in some charity all-dayers over the summer. Then we go back to Rough Trade in Nottingham and Firebug in Leicester, and the o2 Academy have invited us back for some more shows.”

I know you’re a fan of quirky questions Lee, so here’s a few for you all:

What two celebrities would you pick to be your parents?Zero : “Darth Vader and Terminator, cos they can breathe better than me. No, Darth Vader and Barbarella…”Daniel: “Mick Jagger…”Kieran: (Adopts kid’s voice) “Go on Granddad do the dance.”Dan: (Adopts Mick Jagger accent) : “Nahh I’ve dan’ it enough times already!”Lee: “Rene and Renatta.”

If you could get rid of one UK city or town which would it be and why?Daniel: “Skegness. A place where dreams go to die… more caravans than there are people.”Kieran: “I think Mablethorpe is worse than Skegness.”Zero: “Leicester, cos nowhere’s ever open!”Lee: “Liverpool… Although they’re my favourite big football team, every time we’ve played there we got ripped off!”

How would you describe the colour yellow to a blind person?Zero: “Bile.”Lee: “Custardy Slop.”Daniel: “Naa, its a happy colour, like the sun!”Kieran: “How can you explain a colour…? …A bit bright!”

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Acoustic Variations EP

After the release of their debut album, Liverpool band Joe Symes & The Loving Kind toured all over the UK performing their material from their self-titled album. They have played some major support slots including Steve Cradock (Ocean Colour Scene/Paul Weller), The Blockheads, Dodgy, XTC, Bloc Party and Alt-J, headlining Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Aftershow Party. In addition to this they have played the Festival circuit, and have come to the attention of Creation Management’s Alan McGee. Their album was well received in America, with magazine and airplay all over the world.

‘Scousedellia’ – Alan McGee, Creation

The release of their last double A side single ‘Things Get Better/I’m Gonna Find Out Someday’, showcased how they have progressed with increasingly energetic live performances and a heavier sound; but still kept their distinctive feel found on the first album. ‘Things Get Better’ attracted attention at home and abroad, BBC Introducing, being played at Anfield (Liverpool Football Club) on match days, and major international airplay.

In 2016, the band were asked to play Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Aftershow Party once again at the 02 Academy Liverpool, as well as featuring on LFC TV (Liverpool Football Club’s official TV station) Bay TV’s Arts Alive show, and Radio City Talk (105.9 FM). Last summer they performed at festivals around the U.K alongside bands such as Dave McCabe (The Zutons), Space, The Icicle Works, and The Christians, and have commenced work on their long awaited second album which will be released towards the end of 2017; recently working on the album at Peter Gabriel’s Solid State Logic Studios in Oxfordshire.

They recently released their Acoustic Variations EP. Here’s my review of the latest release from Joe Symes & The Loving Kind.

Review

I’m Gonna Find Out Someday – features a gentle acoustic start which picks up the pace before the melodic vocals come in. It has a stripped back sound which is easy on the ear and lovely. It has lyrics such as ‘down in my soul my heart is yearning’, quite a reflective song.

Fine Line – has a fast tempo, husky vocals, cheery strumming of guitars and is a catchy song. It’s a very upbeat tune and I like the percussion, it helps to make it sound very cheerful. It’s very Britpop with good harmonies and a sing a long infectious chorus. I like the ‘live’ sound.

You’re Not Coming Back Tomorrow – the live in the studio sound makes this tune sound quite atmospheric. The song features a sweeping but gentle melody with sway along gentler and softer vocals. It’s a slower paced song but still catchy and infectious nonetheless.

No Turning Back – again has a gentle stripped back start, this song moves along at a slower pace. It’s a melancholy song about love lost and the pain of missing that person with lyrics such as ‘my future is in the past’ and ‘there’s no way forward and there’s no turning back’. It’s an understated and gentle song, easy listening.

This is a really good EP from this talented band from Liverpool. It’s very likeable and easy to listen to. Understated and very well done.

They have some gigs coming up as part of a Spring Mini Tour over the next few months which you can get more details of from their website. Here’s the link to the new EP: Acoustic Variations EP

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Continuing the ‘Inspirational women in music’ series, I met my next interviewee last year through social media and a shared love of music. Marion was promoting March into Pitlochry festival, she is one of the founders, and we got chatting about music and the bands she had on the line up. We finally met in person at the festival in Pitlochry, which has got to be one of the prettiest towns I’ve been to. The line up both days for this year is outstanding, see the link below, I highly recommend you check it out….some of my favourite bands today I first saw there last year!

Can you introduce yourself and briefly tell us a bit about you?

Hi Caroline, my name’s Marion McDonald- I am over 50!!- and I live in Pitlochry.

I have a mobile dog grooming business which I started nearly 5 years ago and I love my job.

Tell me about starting March into Pitlochry, who’s involved and how it came about?

For years I have been going to Loopallu and I love it – its a great festival in Ullapool with a capacity of 2000 people. Ullapool is not unlike Pitlochry with the main street having some cracking bars and hotels. Every year when I left I thought-Pitlochry could do that. I must have spoken my thoughts out loud to a few people. Stephen Carruthers a local business man came to me and asked if I was serious and did I think it would work- of course I did!! He is a big music fan and together we approached Bruce Patterson from Heartland FM who was also up for the idea and then we needed somebody ‘techy and we got John Macphee on board and we decided to put a plan together.

Is working in the music industry something you always wanted to do?

Working?? Not sure I can call it work but to be honest not really. As much as I am a huge music fan I never thought for one minute I would get involved with the music scene apart from going to gigs festivals and listening to CD’s!!

Putting on a festival of that size must be a huge task, where did you even start?

Well before we knew it within a couple of weeks our plan became a reality!! We discussed an outdoor event but decided, that was a huge task to take on, so we opted for an indoor festival- in March before any other festivals kick off. We spoke to 3 hoteliers in Pitlochry who were all keen on the idea. They were to be our 3 “fringe venues” and Pitlochry Town Hall was to become out “Main Stage” so the next step was to start booking out bands that we had all seen before and with social media this was much easier than expected!

Last years festival was a huge success, are you planning an even bigger MIP festival next year?

Well strangely enough no- we have scaled it back a little. Last year was a real learning curve. We had 4 venues and even putting PA and back line in all 4 cost us a lot of money. We are not out to make a profit but to break even would be nice! If we were to make any profit it would go to Parkinson’s UK which was is chosen charity for now. We rely heavily on sponsorship. So this year we have 2 venues and 20 acts. Hopefully from this year it will grow!

You had an amazing line-up this year, including my now favourite band Hunter and the Bear, so a big thank you for that! Who are some of the bands and singers you’re planning to have this year?

Well you and I both love Hunter & The Bear (who I first saw a t Loopallu!!) and they are headlining in The Town hall on Saturday Night because THEY ROCK. They are preceded by The Dunwellsthat are a great band from Leeds and we are very excited to have with us this year. We have Johnny Cage and The Voodoo Groove who describe themselves as hard, dirty, Rock and Roll Rockabilly & blues! what’s not to like? There will be a couple of bands that people will have seen last year for example another one of your favourites- King of Birds are back this year. Just added to our line up isPeter Bruntnell who has 10 albums under his belt and was described by Bob Harris”the cornerstone of UK Americana” what a catch. for us. We have some new exciting artists from up north and the central belt too so it’s all very exciting.

Talk us through a typical day in the life of Marion.

My day starts with walking my dog- my daughter has just moved back home with me so invariably I have her little hound with me too. I always feel better for it no matter what the weather. Then it’s off to my day job! I travel up and down the A9 grooming. I cover from Inverness to Bankfoot. The reason I go as far as Inverness is I have friends and family there and have found myself getting a few days work every fortnight up north. Great excuse for a wee jaunt. I start about 9am and get home between 6 and 7pm. Then its getting the van ready for the next day grab something to eat and with any luck I might be heading to a gig at night!! If not I usually listen to music and check emails etc, I try hard not to iron!!!

Music PR isn’t a 9-5 job, how do you balance your dog grooming business and family life with it?

To be honest my main thing is March into Pitlochry and as it is a one off event it isn’t too onerous, My quiet time dog grooming is January/ February so that gives me time to finalise MIP. As part of MIP we also put on Saturday Sessions at Mckays Bar in Pitlochry so that takes a bit of organising but only on the last saturday of the month so again not too bad. As long as there are people around that are willing to help whether at home or work it certainly helps. And as I said I try not to iron!! That helps!

Best gig you’ve been to and what made it memorable?

Oh that’s a tough one! My first gig was The Tourists in Aberdeen which was amazing-and I have seen so may people in small venues for example Mumford and Sons playing to a handful of people in their early days

But I think I would have to say Beth Hart last year at 02 Academy Glasgow. Possibly because I hadn’t seen her before and I wasn’t sure what to expect but she blew me away. Musically she was fantastic and she was so open about her life – her relationship with her Mother and Father and the love she has for her husband- she got so emotional on stage you really felt for her- she seemed so vulnerable and then she’d belt out another tune!! She came into the audience and sang to them and some of the saudience got very emotional. It was a concert that I thought about for weeks afterwards, which is always a good sign I think!

Where do you want to be career wise this time next year?

I’m not a very ambitious person I don’t think! As long as I am still as busy dog grooming and doing a bit of music organising on the side I’ll be happy. It would be good to see MIP out grow the venues that it is in just now- maybe twist a farmers arm to lend us a field!! Ideally I would like March into Pitlochry 2018 sell out within a few months of tickets going on sale- now that would be something!!

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Josh Taylor – Interview & Review

Just before Christmas last year I had the opportunity to go along to an Alstar Music showcase of young unsigned artists at the Classic Grand in Glasgow. Alstar Music is the brainchild of Simon Dawbarn .a.k.a. Spike from 90’s band 911. I was primarily there to see and interview Manchester born singer/songwriter Josh Taylor.

Classically trained and with an education from well known theatre and acting academies, he is in the pop/rock/classical genres. Josh is a young rapidly rising star of the independent music scene. He set up Cloud9Records & Management, and has toured with up and coming band Road Trip plus The Tide (from California). In addition he has been guest artist with the Glasgow Philharmonia when they played Glasgow City Halls.

Josh has released several songs and an album Feeling Stronger, all available here Josh Taylor Music. He has huge numbers of followers on his social media, and was extremely popular with the crowd in the Classic Grand. Not only is he a popular singer/songwriter but he is also a successful actor too, appearing on the BBC and in films as well as in theatre too, and has starred in West End Live at Leicster Square and Traflagar Square in London. In the past Josh has also co-written a play ‘The Wasp’.

He’s done so much it’s hard to list all of his background; I recommend checking out Josh’s website Josh Taylor Music.

My interview with Josh had to be conducted in two parts due to the busy goings on at the gig. Here’s our video interview where we spoke about balancing two careers, songwriting and what his future plans are amongst other things.

I was very impressed by Josh’s natural performance skills at the Classic Grand (useful on stage and in front of a camera) his great voice, and the rapport he built with the audience. I particularly liked his airing of a new song which sounds like Josh’s music is moving gradually towards a maturer sound. A smart move as he and his teenage following grow and mature too. His natural talent, energy, charm and hint of cheekiness (a t shirt came off at one point!) will see this young musician/actor be successful in whatever he chooses to do. From what I have seen of Josh and through meeting him and the supportive team behind him I am certain he will achieve his goals. He is very down to earth, funny and likeable which will stand him in good stead too!

My thanks to Josh for agreeing to the interview and also to the team behind Josh for allowing the interview and for filming it. It was good to meet you all and I wish Josh all the best for the future, I’ll look forward to some new music soon.

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Little Eye – The Interview

Little Eye are Allan, Euan, Marcus and Jay. They were formed initially in 2008 by lead singer Allan but established as the current line up in 2013. They have a couple of accolades under their belt – Young Scot Unsigned Act Of The Year 2012 and Clyde One In Demand’s 2009 winners of ‘Band Of The Year Award’. They released their first album ‘Fighting The Future’ in June 2014 after releasing the single of the same name in April 2014, which received postiive reviews on the iTunes Alternative Chart. In 2014 they were invited to open the main stage at the Isle Of Wight festival alongside established artists such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Waterboys, The Specials, Nina Nesbitt, John Newman and The 1975. In 2014 they also supported iconic band Blondie at the O2 ABC in Glasgow.

Little Eye toured in mainland Europe last year, and made it into the charts in Italy with their song ‘Something Out Of Nothing’ (it has had over 3 million streams on SoundCloud).They are currently signed to an Italian label and that track ‘Contagious‘ is getting national radio airplay. ‘Something Out Of Nothing’ was played on their MTV Rock channel, and reached number 8 in the top ten rock songs in Italy.

They released ‘Contagious’ on Halloween 2016 and I recommend checking out the accompanying intriguing and slightly disturbing video! It reached number 1 in the Virgin radio chart in Italy with CDF Records, and number 14 in the Italian airplay rock charts.

I interviewed the band recently (minus Marcus the bassist) and it was a great interview with a very down to earth, fun and friendly band. I had the pleasure of seeing them live towards the end of 2016 at their headline show at Electric Circus in Edinburgh, and hope to see them again sometime soon.

They are a dynamic and polished band who know how to put on a fantastic show with a charismatic frontman in Allan. I highly recommend checking them out live. Click on the link to watch the band discuss touring, acting and plans for 2017 etc…….

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On 26th November 2016 popular local band The Rising Souls launched their new EP ‘Set Me Free’ at The Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh with support from Logan’s Close (I unfortunately missed their set). I have seen The Rising Souls a few times; one of those times being when they played our charity Rockathon in May last year and gained a few new fans as a result of their impressive set. I was looking forward to what I knew would be a gig of superior quality.The Liquid Rooms were at full capacity and the atmosphere was lively and friendly.

With a new line up and a new sound straight away this felt very fresh; almost like watching a new band but with the reassuring familiarity of long term band members Roy (Kelso) and Dave. Kelso’s effortless guitar playing, and Dave’s powerful, sublime vocals were as reliable as ever. I could still hear the rootsy soul we are used to but this new sound is more rock with a harder edge than previously.

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The new band members Joe and Reece have clearly gelled very well with Kelso and Dave. The sound created is polished and cohesive. The band has a great chemistry on stage, and they look like they are having a good time which means we are too. Somehow The Souls manage to be both gritty & natural at the same time as being polished and flawless.

The new songs sound immense, I didn’t think it was possible to improve on their previous material as it was so good, but they have taken it up another level and have somehow surpassed an already high standard. The new material was well received by a receptive audience who appreciated the rapport Dave built by engaging with the crowd, and by talking of his appreciation for their support of the band that night.

At the end the crowd demanded ‘one more tune’over and over, and the band happily obliged, raising the roof with their encore.

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The production of the gig was great, the lights were very effective. All in all this was a fantastic gig and a highlight of my gigging experiences in 2016. I look forward to seeing them again sometime this year and hearing more of those new songs live.

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“We believe that awards in music should no longer be reserved for a selection of elite, well established, international recording artists that have the funding, support and weight of major record companies behind them.” – UMA Founders

On 27 October 2016 the inaugral Unsigned Music Awards took place at the beautiful Troxy venue in London. Well over a year in the planning it came from the creative brain of founder Simon O’Kelly, and grew through the hard work, determined contribution and vision of Simon and fellow young, dynamic founders Georgina Thomas and Ben Connor.

Their dedication created an Awards to be proud of, that can be built on year on year. Designed to be able to sit comfortably alongside other music awards such as The Brits as a credible awards for the independent scene, I think they achieved that goal on the night.

With a lot to prove about the validity and worth of independent awards, the UMA met the challenge head on. The result was there to be seen in a glossy, exciting ceremony with some interesting and influential people in the industry presenting the awards, and two presenters in Laura Whitmore (MTV) and Chris Stark (Scott Mill’s Radio 1 show) who are current and credible in the music industry. All in all I think the combination of industry judges, professionals in the music industry, well known presenters, top quality nominees, incredibly good winners who proved their worthiness for the awards, and the excellent acts who performed at the ceremony (some such as Elle Exxe and Broken Witt Rebels went on to win awards) made it authentic and credible. I can see the UMA ceremony becoming more polished and glamorous as it progresses, but for the first year they did a good job. It all pointed to an exciting prospect for the years to come.

I have to mention the supremely good live performances on the night from Elle Exxe, Broken Witt Rebels, Hunter & The Bear, Alex Francis, Dani Sylvia, AKS,SKIES, Chasing Cadence and Darby Ward. We were treated to a diverse set of performances that impressed us throughout the night. The standard was very high and it helped to set the tone for the evening; showcasing how great the quality is within the unsigned music scene. For viewers watching it on Freeview etc I hope it came across at that high standard via TV as it did live at The Troxy. If it gained a few more fans for all the artists involved – winners, nominees and performers – then that’s a great incentive for everyone.

I have to give a special mention to Elle Exxe and Momac who are both from my home city of Edinburgh. I was so delighted to see them showing what talent there is here. Elle has great songs and put in a dynamic performance of her single ‘Home With You’ at the ceremony. I had the pleasure of meeting Elle after the ceremony and she is lovely and just as dynamic when you meet her in person, definite star quality. I scouted Momac for the UMA and was so delighted for Molly when she won the Youth Music Award. She was presented with it by Andy Parfitt who gained widespread recognition as controller at Radio 1. An impressive person to collect the award from, and Molly was very assured up on the stage. Well done Momac! She’s a star of the future definitely. I encouraged Momac to apply for the UMA because of her amazing voice, great songs, striking videos and cool look. She is the whole package, a ready made star. I recommend checking out her music.

If you didn’t watch the Unsigned Music Awards this year or didn’t attend the ceremony then you missed out on a great night. The good news is there are the 2017 awards to look forward to. I’m certain that Georgina, Ben and Simon will again put all of their hearts and souls into the awards they passionately believe in, and strive to make each year better than the last. But what makes the Unsigned Music Awards special is the talented independent musicians within the industry who are a part of the UMA. They showed why the UMA exists; why it’s important for the UMA to support them and nurture that talent.

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I went along to Electric Circus in Edinburgh on 7/11/16 to see Little Eye. They are a band from Glasgow who are beginning to gain attention not only here, but in mainland Europe too.

Little Eye are Allan, Euan, Marcus and Jay. They were formed in 2008 by lead singer Allan. Since then they have a couple of accolades under their belt – Young Scot Unsigned Act Of The Year 2012 and Clyde One In Demand’s 2009 winners of ‘Band Of The Year Award’. They released their first album ‘Fighting The Future’ in June 2014 after releasing the single of the same name in April 2014, which received postiive reviews on the iTunes Alternative Chart. In 2014 they were invited to open the main stage at the Isle Of Wight festival alongside established artists such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Waterboys, The Specials, Nina Nesbitt, John Newman and The 1975. Also in 2014 they supported iconic band Blondie at the O2 ABC Glasgow.

In October they released their new single ‘Contagious’ which fitted perfectly with Hallo’ween! I recommend checking out this intriguing and creepy video!

After the gig I caught up with Little Eye front man Allan to find out how he thought the gig went and to ask more about touring and what’s next for Little Eye. Look out for a full band interview coming soon. But first my review.

REVIEW

It was decent sized crowd for a Monday night in Edinburgh. Although Little Eye don’t gig that much here they are obviously well known and liked here judging by the size of the crowd that was in Electric Circus.

I had known about Little Eye and listened to their music quite a while before I saw them at their headline gig. I had literally days before seen their video for new song ‘Contagious’ and was very impressed by the new single and the unnerving but entertaining video that accompanies it. I was very much looking forward to seeing if their live performance would be of the same standard.

Little Eye I discovered have a very charismatic and enrertaining front man in Allan. They are very good at engaging with the crowd which always gets extra points from me. Songs on the set list included ‘Dreamers’ which I thought was a good song. At one point during a song Allan got off the stage and stood in the crowd watching the rest of the band play a superb instrumental section. Also in the set was ‘Better Than This’ from their debut EP ‘Fight The Future’ and ‘We Are The Kings’. They played ‘Something Out Of Nothing’ which they added was being featured on the MTV Top 10 in Italy.

Little Eye introduced ‘Contagious‘ by explaining that a month ago they had shot a video with Film Scotland and released it on Hallow’een.They said they had been on a long tour and ‘Contagious’ has been picked up by radio in Italy. It’s a great song, loud melodious rock that I highly recommend checking out.

The last song of the night was ‘Disco’ which I thought was fast, upbeat and funky with drving drums Allan was doing some dance moves which ended in a forwards flip, he is quite the showman! It was a very rock n roll theatrical ending to a very good gig. Little Eye have gained a new fan.

After the gig I caught up with lead singer Allan who was lovely and kind to take time out to speak to me after the energetic set!

INTERVIEW

Why have you not played in Edinburgh for a while?

No real reason why. It’s not that we don’t want to play, it’s just that other opportunities opened up; a lot of stuff in Europe. We’ve been gigging in Europe more than Scotland actually. It was a girl who contacted us and wanted us to play this venue, it was at the end of our European dates; we just decided to come and do it because we never play Edinburgh. I think our last time was Studio 24. Because we play Glasgow so much, so we thought we’d do it – come to Edinburgh, beautiful city and why not?

What did you think of the gig tonight?

Yeah it was really good, obviously it’s a Monday night so it’s a very nice and humbling turn out. For us on stage at a venue there’s obviously a few things that artists are pernickety about. But overall, people seemed to enjoy it, so that’s what it’s all about.

So you said that you were on you were on tour in Europe, where were you touring?

The tour spanned over a few months.We set off first and played Germany, France and Luxembourg. We were away for 2 weeks, then we came back for a few weeks. Then we went back out to play Belgium and Holland for 7 days.

And you seem to be doing well in Italy from what you were saying?

Yeah we’re currently signed to an Italian label and that track ‘Contagious’ is getting national radio airplay which is amazing. It’s one of these things ‘our track ‘Something Out Of Nothing’ got picked up in Italy as well. It was getting played on their MTV Rock channel, I think it’s currently number 8 in the top ten rock songs in Italy.which is a quite a cool thing.Then through that they found ‘Contagious’ the new song. It’s getting played on national radio which is quite good and hopefully we’ll be out to Italy next year playing some festivals, keeping our fingers crossed.

Are you going to be gigging more in Scotland as well?

Next year we think we’re going to be doing a Highlands and Islands tour. Places like Inverness, Aberdeen and Dundee, but then we’ll probably finish it off with a big show in Glasgow. It just depends next year on what Europe has to offer us. It’s going to be a busy year next year definitely!

Are there going to be any songs coming out after ‘Contagious’?

Yeah we are actually going down to London to record a bunch of new songs in January. Next week actually we are going up north to a studio with our producer for a week, just to get the songs ready to take down to London. So it’s an exciting time – lots of new music next year.

What’s been your biggest gig to date?

There’s been a few personal ones, we were lucky enough we did 2 shows with Blondie. Just meeting Debbie Harry, playing with such an iconic band! It was probably for me the coolest gig. But the guys would probably say in 2014 we played the main stage at the Isle OF Wight Festival so that’s probably the biggest one. So I’d say I O W main stage is our biggsest gig to date. But I personally prefer the Blondie one because I love Blondie! Even though you are playing a big festival’s main stage, it felt more personal playing 2 shows with Blondie as the only support band. That was quite cool.

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Amy Louise Rogers is a charismatic, witty 17-year-old singer songwriter from Dunfermline. With quirky original lyrics, fresh catchy pop melodies, and a bubbly stage presence she paints a picture of being a young woman who doesn’t exactly fit into a box!

She takes inspiration from the likes of ELO, Kate Bush, Fleetwood Mac and Big Country to name a few.

I had the pleasure of seeing her perform at this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Hugely entertaining she encourages her audience to get involved and sing along with her which we were all more than happy to do as it made for a very enjoyable and memorable experience!

With her new single ‘Girl from Dundee’ out now for pre-order I asked Amy Lou about herself, her music, influences and more here’s what she had to say…..

What or who was the biggest influence in you choosing to become a singer / songwriter?

When I was younger I adored (I still do) musical theatre but I simply cannot dance…so I’ve always really wanted to write songs and music that feels at home in a musical…my own musical – an Amy Lou musical!

What age were you when you wrote your first song, what was it about?

My first “serious” song that I’m proud of I wrote when I was 15 and it’s called ‘She Wants To Be A Marine Biologist’. When I wrote the song everyone I was surrounded by was starting to look at university courses and plan out sensible careers when all I’ve ever wanted to do was sit and play guitar and paint and read. I always thought there was something a bit wrong with me because I had no strong career goal (I still don’t) so that’s what the songs about, its admiring that’s it cool that the people around me know exactly what they want to do but it’s perfectly fine if I just want to play guitar. (Clearly a self-aware 15-year-old)

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard your before?

Quirky Acoustic Queer Marine Biologist Loving Folk Pop

What’s the musical dream you’re aiming for?

My favourite thing is when people know the words to my songs! When my friends come to a gig they’re usually the loud ones singing along at the back! My dream is to have that all the time! I love a good sing along!

Every writer seems to have a different approach to this, what’s your songwriting process?

I seem to be lyrics before the actual music, a lot of my songs are very quirky and conversational-y, so usually I’ll just play chord structures and rant about what’s bothering me to the tune of what I’m playing and hopefully somehow I say something good – from this “good thing” I’ll build a song! It’s a really weird process!

Who are your own hero’s, musical or otherwise?

Definitely my Gran! (Shout out to Granny Rogers!) In all honesty she’s such a cool little woman! She inspires me to definitely take the path less beaten and she’s always pushed me into being creative and being who I am through music and art!

If you could collaborate with any artist at all who would it be?

I adore the Proclaimers, so if they want to hit me up any time soon that’d be grand!

What’s been your best musical memory to date?

I’ve loads of cool and amazing things happen to me because of my music! However, my favourite was at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe! This was a day where I wasn’t busking and I just had one gig (a rarity) so I decided to get an afternoon train which meant it was absolutely packed and I was left standing in the aisle. Me being me, I thought well promotion is promotion, I whipped out my guitar and started playing Proclaimers songs – my friends thought I was absolutely daft but I sold a few CDs and got another gig out of it!

Are you lucky enough to be able to do music full time?

Right now I’m studying events management and promotion, which I’m getting crazy amounts out of and can apply to my own promotion – but when I’m not doing that I spend every second on music, whether it’s writing, rehearsing, gigging or planning!

Describe Yourself in three words?

A bit quirky?

Do you think there’s anything that sets you apart from other singers in Scotland?

I’d like to think I’m very different! My songs are all 100% based on the funny iconic things that happen to me, there’s no poetic metaphors and beautiful words to it with me. It’s straight to the point… I feel this makes me kind of relatable!

You have a great quirky stage presence and are extremely confident and very at home performing live, what big stage would be your dream to play on?

I’m dreaming of playing at Edinburgh Castle on the esplanade that’d be great!

Finally tell us about your new song ‘The Girl From Dundee’ and when it’s out?

Well the single is quite different to what I usually do! A lot of my songs about love before have tried to hide my sexuality and fumble about the subject – this one’s very different! Simply put it’s a love song about a girl I met over the summer and it’s based on conversations I had with my best friend about this girl and what I could do to make her fall for me (the girl did not). Funnily enough she isn’t from Dundee either – she’s actually from Perth but the “The Girl From Perth” doesn’t really have a ring to it does it?

You can pre-order the song now and it’ll be fully available on the 1st of December!

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Mark Anthony is a North London born and bred singer-songwriter that I had the pleasure of meeting while I was on a recent trip to London for the Unsigned Music Awards. On 31st October Mark released his debut album Reckless Caution (click on the album name to have a listen). Mark’s music fits into several genres such as Urban Pop/Hip-Hop/Trap Rap/House/Elecro. On 4 March 2017 he’ll be playing his first headline solo gig, and featuring some tracks from the album at the St Moritz Club in Soho, London.

As a teenager he and his friends would hang around the London estate where he lived imitating rappers and writing their own raps to perform. Mark met a rapper from South London, Hi Breed and a singer from West London, Paul Lee. Eventually after being friends for quite a while the trio formed the group ‘The Meds Collective‘. They teamed up with a London based producer BA Nusance and recorded tracks together.

In May 2012 The Meds Collective released their debut album ‘Heartbreaks & Remedies’ and in January 2013 released an EP ‘Change’.They toured all over the UK after both releases and they also built up a core fan base around Europe and beyond. The Meds Collective split in September 2014. Following on from this, in December 2015 after writing and recording solo material, Mark released his debut single ‘An 80’s vibe’. After that he released ‘London City’ in February 2016 and ‘I Still Miss You’ in May 2016.

On 24 September 2016 Mark supported Tony Mortimer, former member of British group ‘East 17’ (who were one of the big pop bands in the 90’s) at the O2 Academy Islington in London.Tony has continued on as a solo artist, a record producer and manager of bands. You can hear more about this big and busy gig for Mark in our interview.

So onto my interview which was conducted after meeting and chatting to Mark for a while beforehand (topics of conversation included Peter Andre, Blur and our day jobs!). He’s a great person to interview; very warm, friendly and chilled out. Mark was a star answering all my questions with ease including rate or slate! We spoke about Queen, Damon Alban, what’s next for Mark, collaborations and who he’d like to go on a road trip with.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Mark for being such a good sport, you’re never getting to forget your answer to guilty pleasures! Thanks also to Katie G from Radio Saltire for initially connecting Mark and I. Finally thanks to my fellow Owl GeeGee for again being my fantastic videographer.